Savarna

Published on 18th February, 2018, in Mid-day. As an Odia child raised in Mumbai, I am often asked about my roots. My parents told me we belong to the 'karana' caste. No one in Mumbai had heard of this caste. Later, I learned that karana caste is what is known as karanam in Andhra Pradesh, kayastha in the Gangetic plains and Bengal, and as prabhu in Maharashtra. This is a jati of people who served kings as scribes, bureaucrats and accountants, who went on to become influential courtiers and landowners. While Pattanaik and Mohanty are common karana surnames in Odisha, in the Gangetic plains there ..